After discovering cava for two weeks it was time to leave Barcelona and return home. Our flight home was less direct than our flight from Baltimore to Barcelona via JFK. To go home we had to fly from Barcelona to Paris then onto Detroit, then onto Baltimore. This was not a very direct flight. The first leg of the journey was delayed in Barcelona which meant racing through Charles DeGaul Airport in Paris to make our connecting flight on time. We made it with only minutes to spare. Our first two legs was with Air France, so I naturally asked for champagne once we were at cruising altitude.

In economy, Air France was serving Champagne Pannier Selection Brut. The yellow color champagne offered some yeast notes similar to freshly baked bread. There were also apple notes and a small persistent stream of bubbles. The sparkling wine was crisp with 12% alcohol. The wine was a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier

Once home, I decided to do some research on the price of this champagne. I was surprised to see the average price was $38. I thought that was rather high for a wine with a score of 84/100. The price also reaffirmed my desire for cava. The cavas we tasted in the Penedés Alt region of Catalonia were every bit as pleasing at only a third of the cost. We tasted several of the cavas on the 2014 list of 50 Great Cavas. Of those a number were less than 10€ (less than $13) while others were less than 15€ (less than $20).

Cheers,
Terry